Page 13 of What Fury Brings
“If you drank less, you wouldn’t need the money!” the boy spat.
The sire raised his hand to land a blow, and the boy flinched, as though this were something he’d come to expect on a regular basis.
Glen grabbed the man’s wrist before the blow could land. “I’ll give you five ederos,” she said.
The sire swallowed. “Yes, Princess. That is most generous.”
Glen turned to a servant behind her to gesture for her to pay the man. When she spotted Olerra, she grinned.
Only Glenaerys Corasene could manage to make a smile look like a threat.
The cousins looked nothing alike, despite sharing blood. Glen’s curls were the color of golden sand, and her eyes were as bright as the cerulean sky. Glenaerys was small where Olerra was large. Olerra had the dark hair and hazel eyes of the royal family, while Glenaerys took more after her mother. Olerra was general over the queen’s armies and oversaw the day-to-day running of the troops while Glenaerys was a strategist who mingled with the spymaster and treasurer.
“Didn’t see you there, cousin,” Glen said. “What do you think of my latest purchase?” She waved her hand in front of the boy.
“He’s a bit younger than your usual go-to,” Olerra said, disgusted by the whole thing.
“I’ve started buying them young so they can be properly trained. On his eighteenth birthday, he’ll be bedded for the first time and properly inducted into the harem.”
Sure he would. Olerra didn’t believe for a second that her cousin would wait until he was older. Glenaerys got off on the power play.
Olerra wished she could steal the boy away and cart him off to Ydra’s estate for safety, but the only way to free that boy was for Olerra to become queen. She needed the power to make new laws. To save them all.
“Why are you here?” Glen asked. “It’s been years since you’ve paid me a social visit.”
“I just wanted to tell you the good news.”
Glen inspected her nails, as though she couldn’t care less about the conversation. “And what news is that?”
“I’ve just received Auntie’s approval. I’m going to kidnap myself a husband.”
Glen went very still. “Fabulous.”
“It is, isn’t it? You’ll no doubt try to sabotage the endeavor in some way, so I thought I’d let you know that I have people watching the roads to Kalundir. And Auntie will be keeping an eye on you.”
“Excellent.”
Olerra rather thought so. She was about to garner so much favor. And she’d just given her cousin a false destination. While Glenaerys was expecting Olerra to head west, she’d in fact be going north.
Glen pursed her lips and turned away. She barked, “Come,” to the young boy and stalked off.
Olerra relished the win all the way to Ydra’s.
4
Sanos felt all the tension leave his body as he started on his second ale.
His back had healed over the past fortnight, and he’d enjoyed stolen moments with his mother and sister. Both seemed to be doing well. Emorra had taken an interest in engineering. She was building all kinds of miniature bridges, buildings, and the like. She’d rattled off numbers and words likesuspensionandarchitectonic. He had no idea what books she was reading or how she managed any of it, but that was the way she was.
Now his birthday had arrived, and Sanos could finally loosen up. He was out with his brothers, and his father didn’t know where they were. They weren’t being watched. Sanos knew, because he kept looking over the tavern for spies.
Here he couldn’t do anything to stoke his father’s paranoia.
No, instead he had good company, tolerable drink, and the promise of pleasure at the end of the night.
The Ladicus brothers were only at their second tavern, yet Andrastus was already slurring his words. He never could hold his drink.
“Saaaaaaanos. Youuuuuu’re olderrrrrrrr tooooooday. You looooook olllllllllld.”
